Sugar Puffs
“More and more, the news that Americans are fed looks like
entertainment. The difficult and complex aspects of issues are left out because
they are incompatible with meeting the public’s entertainment needs—which,
unlike the needs for thoughtful reporting, are insatiable.
“Our political commentators can endlessly amuse us by treating political campaigns and elections as sports events—we get unending discussions about who’s up and who’s down. Absurdly irrelevant gaffes by politicians are treated as serious events and subjected to detailed analysis. We are given minute analyses of the current polls—how are the candidates doing with blue collar Armenian Catholics versus Latino Presbyterians versus Mormon lesbian polygamists.
“At the same time, increasing amounts of ink and air time are consumed by sentimental ‘feel good’ stories of no real consequence.”
“Our political commentators can endlessly amuse us by treating political campaigns and elections as sports events—we get unending discussions about who’s up and who’s down. Absurdly irrelevant gaffes by politicians are treated as serious events and subjected to detailed analysis. We are given minute analyses of the current polls—how are the candidates doing with blue collar Armenian Catholics versus Latino Presbyterians versus Mormon lesbian polygamists.
“At the same time, increasing amounts of ink and air time are consumed by sentimental ‘feel good’ stories of no real consequence.”
—Henry Banta,
attorney, columnist and Nieman fellow, “Lessons on covering politics from the late David Foster Wallace,” Nieman Watchdog,
2012
• Editorial Comment: Sugar rush—that’s why the news gives me a headache.
• Yesterday’s WORD: Did you miss yesterday’s WORDs from 1920s Kansas newspaper publisher E.W. Howe, on his God-given right to talk nonsense? Click here.
• Legally Blond: USU professor smooches student in stage drama, by Heidi Smith
• Mendon must raise $1.2 million for water well; sets public hearing, by Brandon Fonda
• Country swing dance emporium coming to Smithfield? Stay tuned, by Katie Swain
• Guest column: Don’t come to Canada, American secessionists, by Sherry King
• Silent auction set for ‘found bikes’ in Smithfield, by Katie Swain
• Aggie TV News (11/14/12)—No parking! After-school program boosts reading, Aggies go weightless on the ‘vomit comet,’ sports & more!, anchored by Kelsey Keller & Emily Landeen
• ‘Botanizing Utah’—scientist follows 1890s photo safari of the West, by D. Whitney Smith
• Reporter’s Notebook: Night in a cop car with ‘hell trying to break loose,’ by Dani Hayes
PeezPIX by Ted Pease
• Guest column: Don’t come to Canada, American secessionists, by Sherry King
• Silent auction set for ‘found bikes’ in Smithfield, by Katie Swain
• Aggie TV News (11/14/12)—No parking! After-school program boosts reading, Aggies go weightless on the ‘vomit comet,’ sports & more!, anchored by Kelsey Keller & Emily Landeen
• ‘Botanizing Utah’—scientist follows 1890s photo safari of the West, by D. Whitney Smith
• Reporter’s Notebook: Night in a cop car with ‘hell trying to break loose,’ by Dani Hayes
PeezPIX by Ted Pease
No comments:
Post a Comment